FACING the final 12 games of the campaign is always a good time to state your intention to go on a winning run.

But for David Moyes, his willingness to keep stringing together the results that will lead Everton back into Europe is also fuelled by a frustrating wait for anything like a consistent sequence.

“It’s something we’ve not done enough this season,” Moyes admits about his side’s inability to provide any sustained penetration of the top six.

And it’s underpinned by a remarkable and baffling statistic that has continually held Everton back.

Because scanning the results of their 26 Premiership games reveals they have only once strung together two successive league victories. And even they came two weeks apart – completed by the 3-0 derby victory over Liverpool on September 9.

But to Everton’s credit, nor have they lost more than two in a row, and again this has happened only once – when they lost to Portsmouth and Chelsea in mid-December.

That’s why Everton’s lack of momentum hasn’t cost them too dearly as they hunt down Reading, and they can close the gap on the sixth-placed side to one point if they follow up the three points gained against Blackburn Rovers by winning tonight’s game in hand.

The previous two-game winning run started with victory at White Hart Lane, so what better team to face than Spurs in Everton’s bid to put together back-to-back victories again?

Moyes said: “We want to see if we can keep this run going and build on it.

“We have to make sure now we are focused and equipped to try to do well in the remaining 12 games. Now we have to push on.

“I think our points total is enough to stay in the Premier League – that is always my first objective. We now have to try to achieve something if we can.

“If we can get one of the Uefa Cup spots, great, but we are behind. We are the chasing team and we have quite a lot of points to make up.

“We are going to have to play very well between now and the end of the season if there’s to be a chance of that happening. I don’t know how many points it will take this season. I just know that we are behind.

“I am saying we will try to get there if we can. We are not targeting any further ahead. We’re on a decent bit of a run at the moment.”

Everton are currently on their longest unbeaten run in the Premiership since the start of the season, when they went undefeated in their first seven games before finally succumbing to Middlesbrough at the Riverside.

The current sequence is four games without a loss, with the Blues keeping an impressive hat-trick of clean sheets in the last three of those games – the wins over Wigan and Blackburn, plus the derby draw with Liverpool at Anfield.

Keeping that going against Tottenham may be a daunting project following Spurs’ 4-0 FA Cup victory at Fulham at the weekend.

But closer inspection of the form of Martin Jol’s men reveals that cups are no guide to their league form, having won only once on the road all season.

Moyes is one of many who expected Spurs to make more of an impact in the Premiership following their valiant attempt to emulate Everton’s fourth place finish from a year earlier last season.

“We have all been surprised by Spurs because they have some good players and are an excellent side,” said Moyes.

“They are a side people would think would compete at the top end because they have always spent quite big in recent years.

“But you have to say they have had some great runs in the cups – the FA Cup, Uefa Cup and reaching the semi-final of the Carling Cup. You would have to praise them for that.”

Everton’s injury problems, which include a suspension for Tim Cahill, means the home fans will almost certainly get another glimpse of Manuel Fernandes.

The on-loan Benfica midfielder impressed on his debut in the 1-0 win over Blackburn but Moyes feels there is better to come from the midfielder after last week’s training break in Spain.

“He’s been better – I think he’s looking fitter and I think he’s settled in more,” said Moyes of Fernandes.

“His training has looked much sharper. In the first week or two he certainly looked as though he’d missed some games and some training so hopefully he will feel the benefits of the last week or two and a bit more training.”

The manager added: “He gives us another dimension and we’re looking forward to seeing him in the coming months.”